Accelerating and reinforcing the response to the emergence of new respiratory viruses.
A network of virology laboratories using the same technique for rapid, robust and comparable results

Within the WP1 of EU-RESPONSE, the Hospices Civils of Lyon with the CNR (National Reference Centre for viruses of respiratory infections) created an operational European network of virology laboratories. The overall objective is the harmonization of procedures and capacity building between European partners for virological analyses. The aim is to benefit from a network responsive during this pandemic but also in the event of other emerging infectious diseases, a network capable of carrying out, in a short time, a viral quantification technique for the evaluation of the antiviral effectiveness of a treatment. Using the same technique is the only way to provide robust and comparable results.

The operational set-up of this network was done as part of the Discovery trial and the evaluation of AstraZeneca’s monoclonal antibody treatment. To achieve the harmonization and capacity building in the best way possible, it was decided to work with a commercial kit. BioMérieux worked closely with us on this project to obtain from all laboratories, normalized viral loads. The normalization and the use of the same RT-PCR are the only way to compare viral loads done in different laboratories and in different samples between good or poor quality samples, depending on the cell concentration and between different types of respiratory samples. The performance of each laboratory is monitored in real time by providing a single quality check.

Twelve referent laboratories were identified, in the countries partners of the WP1 of EU-RESPONSE and received information on the project, the technique and the objectives. Then came the training by the Molecular Business Support Team of bioMérieux and a test on each laboratory platform followed by the R&D team of bioMérieux and the CNR. So far, eight laboratories have been validated and are ready to collaborate, others are under validation. This network aims at integrating new partners representative of the whole European Union.

Contacts

Nathalie Bergaud
Project manager
nathalie.bergaud01@chu-lyon.fr

Maude Bouscambert-Duchamp
Virologist
maude.bouscambert-duchamp@chu-lyon.fr

Alexandre Gaymard
Virologist
alexandre.gaymard@chu-lyon.fr

Network of European Virology Laboratories

 

VIRvOLT – Virology Operational Labs for drug Testing

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1

LHUB-ULB – Laboratoire Hospitalier Universitaire de Bruxelles
Brussels – Belgium

2

Faculty Hospital
Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology
Brno – Czech Republic

3

CNR – National Reference Centre for viruses of infectious diseases
Lyon – France

4

Evaggelismos General Hospital
Department of Clinical Microbiology
Athens – Greece

5

University of Pécs Clinical Center
Department of laboratory medicine – Unit of molecular genetics
Pécs – Hungary

6

LNS – Laboratoire national de Santé – Department of microbiology
Luxemburg

7

Respiratory Virus Laboratory of the Medical University of Łódź
Łódź – Poland

8

INSA – National Reference Laboratory for Influenza and other Respiratory Viruses
Lisbon – Portugal

9

CCL – CASSOVIA COVID LAB
Kosice – Slovakia

10

Servicio de microbiologia – Hospital La Paz
Madrid – Spain

The project is supported by the European Commission under the H2020 Programme.

Servicio de microbiologia
Hospital La Paz
Madrid - Spain

Dr. Almudena Gutiérrez Arroyo

Dr. Julio García Rodríguez

Dr. Elias Dahdouh

The La Paz University Hospital is a tertiary care center in the Northern Madrid area that receives over 58,000 admissions and cares for over 1,500,000 outpatients per year. The hospital’s Department of Clinical Microbiology and Parasitology is functionally divided into several units that include:

  • Virology
  • Serology
  • Bacteriology
  • Mycology
  • Parasitology
  • Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing
  • Next-Generation Sequencing
  • Molecular Microbiology Research and Development
  • BSL-3 lab

The Clinical Microbiology and Parasitology Department employs both classical and molecular microbiology techniques that include PCRs, whole-genome sequencing, and metagenomics. The department is also part of the national surveillance network for respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2.

Contacts: eliedahdouh(at)gmail.com

Evaggelismos General Hospital
Department of Clinical Microbiology
Athens - Greece

Dr  Elena Kraniotaki

The Department of Clinical Microbiology, is a hospital laboratory belonging to Greece’s biggest General Hospital in Athens (Evaggelismos General Hospital).

The Department is divided in sub-Departments:

  • Classical Bacteriology Department (blood cultures, urine cultures, respiratory specimen cultures etc., MALDI-TOF analysis, Mycology, Parasitology)
  • Serology Department (detection of IgG, IgM, IgA and Ag with ELISA, IFA, CLIA etc.)
  • Antibiograms Department
  • Tuberculosis Department
  • Molecular Diagnostics Department (detection of respiratory viruses, Herpes Viruses, Polyomaviruses, Parvovirus B19 and protozoa such as Toxoplasma and Leishmania, with molecular biology methods. Molecular epidemiology studies for detection of resistance in nosocomial pathogens)

The Department is a BSL- 2 laboratory and is part of the national network for diagnostic testing of SARS-CoV-2

Contact: ekraniot(at)yahoo.com

University of Pécs Clinical Center
Department of laboratory medicine - Unit of molecular genetics

Pécs - Hungary

A/Prof. Katalin Gombos

Péter Urbán

  • Clinical routine diagnostic laboratory (the largest laboratory diagnostic service provider in the South Transdanubia region) There are more than 250 types of tests in our laboratory, of which nearly 2.5 million are performed annually. Our institute is a FJ-3 laboratory, which operates non-stop, 24 hours a day.
  • Unit of Molecular Genetics is a BSL-2 laboratory holding accredited status for 15 molecular diagnostic testing workflows since 2016 by the National Accreditation Authority.
  • Diagnostic palette includes nucleic acid-based diagnostic testing of bacterial and viral human pathogens and automated serology testing (HPV, Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Hepatitis B and C virus, HSV 1/ 2, CMV, EBV, PB19 and SARS-CoV-2 qualitative, quantitative and genotype analysis, SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike and anti-nucleocapside IgM/IgG detection)
  • University of Pecs developed the bacteriology laboratory (culturing, serology and MALDI-TOF analysis) in the Department of Microbiology.
  • The laboratory unit is also accredited for genetic testing of Factor II and Factor V, MTHFR, APOE and multidrug resistency gene mutations and polymorphisms (MDR).
  • Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund (NEAK) appoints laboratory units for pathogen testing, if the diagnostic or surveillance need for testing exceeds the National Center for Epidemiology’s central laboratory capacity. University of Pecs is appointed for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics and surveillance for the Southern Transdanubian region (3 counties).

Contacts: gombos.katalin(at)pte.hu / urban.peter(at)pte.hu

LHUB-ULB – Laboratoire Hospitalier Universitaire de Bruxelles
Brussels – Belgium

Delphine Martiny

Benoit Prevost

The LHUB-ULB microbiology department is responsible for laboratory analyzes carried out during the preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic care of patients suffering from infectious diseases. In this context, our mission consists of delivering quality results within an optimized response time by promoting efficiency, cutting-edge technologies, expertise and multidisciplinarity, and strong interactions with the clinicians of our partner hospitals.

The microbiology department is made up of 6 clinics and medical units, and deploys its activities in each of our 4 activity centers.

The microbiology department also carries out expert activities in the study and surveillance of certain infections in Belgium, and hosts 4 national reference centers (Staphylococcus species, Campylobacter species, Haemophilus influenza and Legionella species). He also conducts research projects in the fields of diagnosis, epidemiology and resistance to anti-infectives.

Contacts: Benoit.PREVOST(at)LHUB-ULB.BE 

Faculty Hospital
Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology

Brno – Czech Republic

Marija Kaevska

Lenka Zdrazilova-Dubska

Dr Martina Mrkvicova

Laboratory diagnosis

  • Molecular Microbiology (Multiplex PCR- herpes viruses, respiratory, meningitis, gastrointestinal, STD,HAV, HBV, HCV, HEV, Borrelia, other)
  • Bacteriology, Parasitology, Mycology, antibiotic rezistence
  • Infectious Immunology (antibody detection against various viral and bacterial agents)
  • Immunopathology (detection of antibodies in autoimmune diseases, allergies)
  • BSL2 Laboratory units

Contacts: Kaevska.Marija(at)fnbrno.cz / ZdrazilovaDubska.Lenka(at)fnbrno.cz / Mrkvicova.Martina(at)fnbrno.cz

CNR – National Reference Centre for viruses of infectious diseases
Lyon – France

Dr Maude Bouscambert-Duchamp & Nathalie Bergaud

Dr Alexandre Gaymard

Designated by the Ministry in charge of Health, and more particularly by the General Directorate of Health (DGS) and by Santé Publique France (SPF)​, to provide expertise on influenza and other respiratory viruses

Part of the Institute for Infectious Agents (IAI) :

  • Microbiological expertise among which virological expertise
  • Molecular biology, viral culture, serology, serum neutralization
  • Access to BSL 3 facilities

Missions

National surveillance of respiratory viruses epidemiology based on several networks providing samples to be analysed by the CNR

  • General practionners
  • Hospital laboratories
  • Private laboratories

National surveillance and management in case of emergence

Virologists: maude.bouscambert-duchamp(at)chu-lyon.fr & alexandre.gaymard(at)chu-lyon.fr
Project Manager : nathalie.bergaud01(at)chu-lyon.fr

LNS – Laboratoire national de Santé – Department of microbiology
Luxemburg

Dr. Trung Nguyen

Mégane Migliorini

Sabrina Deroo

  • Public institution established by the law of 7 August 2012 and operating under the supervision of the Ministry of Health in Luxembourg
  • Multidisciplinary institute with 4 Departments and 2 National Centers:
    • National Center of Pathology
    • National Center of Genetics
    • Medical Biology
    • Microbiology
    • Forensic medicine
    • Health Protection
  • Department of Microbiology: 3 services
    • Bacteriology – mycology – antibiotic resistance and hospital hygiene
    • Virology and Serology
    • Pathogen Sequencing: epidemiological and genomic monitoring of pathogens of public interest
  • The Department works closely together with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and ECDC to support surveillance of pathogens
  • Department of Microbiology is nominated as National Reference Laboratory for Acute Respiratory Infections, HIV and viral Hepatitis
  • Infrastructure in the Department: BSL-3

Contacts: Trung.Nguyen(at)lns.etat.lu / Megane.Migliorini(at)lns.etat.lu / Sabrina.Deroo(at)lns.etat.lu

Respiratory Virus Laboratory of the Medical University of Łódź
Łódź – Poland

Izabela Dróżdż & Prof. Maciej Borowiec

The Respiratory Virus Laboratory of the Medical University of Łódź is located in Łódź, Poland.

Our Lab has the facility to perform the biomolecular methodologies.

The Laboratory was one of first reference laboratory in Poland to receive aauthorization for a high complexity molecular based SARS CoV-2 Laboratory Developed Test.

The supervisory body at the national level is the National Institute of Hygiene, and our laboratory is directly subordinate to the above mentioned central institution.

Contacts: izabela.drozdz(at)umed.lodz.pl / maciej.borowiec(at)umed.lodz.pl

INSA – National Reference Laboratory for Influenza and other Respiratory Viruses
Lisbon – Portugal

Isabel Lopes Carvalho, Raquel Guiomar, Nuno Verdasca

Laboratory Diagnosis

  • Multiplex PCR (Influenza, SARS-CoV-2, respiratory vírus)
  • Virus culture (Influenza, SARS-CoV-2)
  • Serology: Influenza (haemaglutination inhibition assay)
    • SARS-CoV-2 (IgG anti-Spike, IgG anti-nuclocapside, IgM; imuno chemioluminescent assay- Abbott)
  • WGS Influenza and SARS-CoV-2
  • Antiviral susceptibility assays: Phenotypic and genotypic assays


Laboratory Facilities

  • BSL2 and BSL3
  • Virus culture Unit; Respiratory Bacterial Unit (TB, Legionela, Neisseria, Pneumo, Haemophilus)

National Surveillance Program for Influenza and Other Resp. Viruses

Contacts: isabel.carvalho(at)insa.min-saude.pt / raquel.guiomar(at)insa.min-saude.pt / Nuno.Verdasca(at)insa.min-saude.pt

CCL
CASSOVIA COVID LAB

Kosice – Slovakia

Prof. Monika Halanova

Dr. Miroslava Rabajdová

  • Accredited Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory of COVID-19
  • University Laboratory, BSL- 2 laboratory
  • Part of the national network for diagnostic of COVID-19
  • Common workplace of 2 Departments
    • Department of Epidemiology
    • Department of Medical and Clinical Biochemistry
  • Other diagnostic methods: serology, serum neutralization test - only within research projects
  • Bacteriology Laboratory is located in the Department of Medical and Clinical Microbiology

Contacts: monika.halanova(at)upjs.sk / miroslava.rabajdova(at)upjs.sk